State: Emergency response poses no danger

Published 1:00 am, Thursday, May 15, 2008

BETHEL -- A state official said residents need not worry about their emergency medical services despite last week's news that the state is investigating those services.

"We have the authority to revoke the license and certification if public health is in jeopardy," said
Leonard Guercia
, operations branch chief of the state
Health Department
and head of its
Office of Emergency Medical Services
.
Bethel is not in that situation, he added.
Guercia said because of state law he cannot give details of an ongoing investigation. He did stress, however, that cooperation between his office and the town of Bethel is resolving the problems.
"We've been working very closely in an advisory capacity with the office of the first selectman, town counsel and the fire chiefs," Guercia said. "They're working really hard with coming up with solutions."
Guercia added that his office monitors emergency medical services programs in the state not to "be punitive" but to make sure "the right people show up in a timely manner" during an emergency.
New Milford's volunteer ambulance service is also under investigation for its response times, it was learned last week.
The creation last month of a new Bethel town board to oversee emergency medical services is a major step toward resolving concerns and enhancing the services,

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said.
The purpose of the
Emergency Medical Services Commission
, Burke said, "is to better control and help our volunteers."
He stressed his gratitude to Bethel's fire departments and said "the volunteers in Bethel are doing an excellent job."
Medical emergencies in Bethel are handled by the two volunteer fire departments -- the

Bethel Fire Department
on South Street or the Stony Hill Fire Department on Stony Hill Road. Ambulances are dispatched from one of the departments, depending on the part of town where the emergency takes place.
Since the volunteer emergency medical technicians on the ambulances cannot administer advanced life support, such as intubation, the town has a contract with a paramedic service that intercepts the ambulance when needed.
The new commission, Burke said, has control of emergency medical services in both fire departments to ensure "consistency throughout town with regard to response times and everything that goes with emergency services."
A problem facing Bethel and many Connecticut towns with all-volunteer emergency medical services is having sufficient volunteers to staff ambulances on weekdays. Changing demographics mean the pool of volunteers is smaller than in the past, in part because people today work farther from the towns where they live.
Among things Bethel's Emergency Medical Services Commission will consider is the possibility of employing some paid ambulance personnel during weekdays and of contracting a paramedic dedicated solely to Bethel.
Bethel shares a paramedic intercept program with Redding.
Contact
Marietta Homayonpour
at mhomayonpour@newstimes.com or at (203) 731-3336.
Members of the newly created Emergency Medical Services Commission in Bethel: